Masterbuilt propane smokers

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Hey "Pelon213'

Don't try to use foil for this, it will burn up in the high heat. Go to Wal Mart and get an 8" cast pan for 8 bucks and be done with it. You will save a lot of frustration!
I bought a cast iron skillet off amazon for $16 and it's alot better smoke and flavor and a wok the walls on the wok are angled and i put that upside down over the flame and the 8'' skillet on top of that
 
how many chunks of wood would you guys expect to go through on a 4 hr smoke of ribs at about 275 degrees?
that all varies bud. you'll only use as many as you load in there...and you'll only load as many as you like depending on how much smoke you like on your food. i personally load up good amount in the pan from the get go,i buy big chunks and throw about 4-5 softball size chunks in there. but im a smoke addict. lol.
 
Ok to describe further, I put the Bayou classic needle valve on the smoker, replacing the factory 'black' regulator hose.  once I did that, and I put the 10" cast pan from Wallyworld onto the burner, I get the flames coming back through the tube to the burner hitting the valve assembly at the bottom of the box.  I went back to my original hose and I didn't have that issue.  I think it was because too much fuel was flying through it and was blowing back through the tube back to the valve at the bottom.  I will reattempt it again and see what it does.  I also through looking and playing I put my cast pan on the 'flying saucer' pan.  it seemed to work a little better, but took a LONG time for the wood chunks to start smoldering.  I ended up putting in some Kingsford to help it along. 

Should I light a bit of the Kingsford put it in the cast pan, and then put the wood chunks into what is glowing?  would that help my situation.  It just wouldn't get above 220 degrees no matter what I did.  had much higher temps when I used just the saucer.  I guess it could just be trial and error on my part with the nice box I have.  BTW, I did some chickens in it last weekend and smoked them for about 1.5 to 2 hours and then slapped them on the grill.  Worked like a champ!
Yes if you tried using the Byou valve, it was most likely the one for a turkey fryer.  Did it have the needle valve on it as well?  If so the regulator is the issue.  You can swap the one out with the original one from the hose that came with the unit.  You will need a reducer to attach the hose to it.
 
that all varies bud. you'll only use as many as you load in there...and you'll only load as many as you like depending on how much smoke you like on your food. i personally load up good amount in the pan from the get go,i buy big chunks and throw about 4-5 softball size chunks in there. but im a smoke addict. lol.
Gotcha.  Thanks guys.  I just read on here about only adding 2-3 chunks to start and those seemed to be mostly ash pretty quickly.  Just making sure everything was working normally...sounds like it is.  Sunday was my first cook on a smoker, so I kept it simple with a rack of ribs and some ABT's.  they turned out great.  picked up a butt yesterday which will be getting smoked on Sunday most likely. 

Thanks!
 


did you get the Mav ET-732 temp unit , remember not to hit bone in the butt, that will throw off the true temp on the unit, I use about 2-3 chunks every 2 1/2 hrs on a LONG smoke, on a brisket or butt that takes 16+ hrs to be done, It still looks like a Meteorite when it come out.. 
yeh, a delicious meteorite!
 
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Hey everyone first post.

I just bought a Masterbuilt 20051311 GS30D 2-Door Propane Smoker off Amazon. I put it together last night and everything looks good other than two things

1. The the top hinge on the lower door broke off. shouldn't be a huge deal I just need someone to weld it back on.

2. What type of gasket is everyone using around the door to seal in the smoke?

I'm very new to the smoke scene. This is my first smoker after I've been dabbling with ribs on my grill. I'm really looking forward to going wild with this bad boy and I think my wife will be happy if she doesn't have to cook as much.

Also, I followed the seasoning instructions so I should be G2G!!! 
 
Hey everyone first post.

I just bought a Masterbuilt 20051311 GS30D 2-Door Propane Smoker off Amazon. I put it together last night and everything looks good other than two things

1. The the top hinge on the lower door broke off. shouldn't be a huge deal I just need someone to weld it back on.

2. What type of gasket is everyone using around the door to seal in the smoke?

I'm very new to the smoke scene. This is my first smoker after I've been dabbling with ribs on my grill. I'm really looking forward to going wild with this bad boy and I think my wife will be happy if she doesn't have to cook as much.

Also, I followed the seasoning instructions so I should be G2G!!! 
As for the gasket, you can find a rope style gasket that is use on fireplaces, lowes or HD have them, or you can use a hi temp RTV to create it.  There are a bunch of threads here that show how to use either or on your type or similar smoker.

I use the rope style and have been happy with it.
 
I've had this smoker for 3 months now...absolutely love it!

I have not installed a gasket around the door...don't need it...it's a very tight fight.

As for the door hinge, I had an issue there as well...

When it came the hinge had been welded in the wrong position, which allowed for a 3/8 inch gap on the bottom half of the door.  I called MasterBuilt and they sent me a new door via Fedex...took like 3 days.  I couldn't believe it.

Amazing customer service...totally unexpected.  You can get their number off the website or in the instruction booklet that came with your smoker. 

Once you either get your door fixed or replaced, try a few smokes before deciding if you need a gasket.
 
Thanks, if the weld doesn't fix it I'll give them a call. I'm glad I took photos. While seasoning the grill I noticed a lot of smoke coming out I figure the seal can only help so I bought this


Also I'm glad I read the forums first and bought a digital temperature gage. The one that came with the unit was 30-50 degrees off at times.
 
I bought a Masterbuilt  XL 40, and have tried many different ways to even out the heat, make the wood chunks not burn up in 20 or 30 minutes, and a boat load of other "little" fixes I saw others have done. I tried the cast iron pan; all it did was suck up heat and not radiate it like I had hoped. PLEASE, this is not an attack on what any of the others have done, so if I offend anyone, that was not my intention. Thank God this is America, where we are allowed to voice and vent our issues, without fear of repercussion.

After lots of trial and error, this is what worked for me to keep a nice wisp of smoke going, and not have one end of my rack of ribs dry, and the other end so-so. I removed the factory water pan, and replaced it with a cheapo foil lasagna pan from the dollar store. Yes it had to be crushed a little bit, but it sure holds a good amount of water. As soon as I find the generic brand of lasagna pans at Wallly world, I will modify the factory shelf to accept it. As far as fire/smoke/heat control goes, here is what I did; I had a broken fire bricks and use one half on each side of the burner, I then placed a extra rack I had from a charcoal bbq covering the gas burner. Now I had a way to set my smoke pan (an 8 inch cake tin, another gift from the dollar store) and I can slide it on or off the fire as needed to provide the amount of smoke I wanted. Next, on the water pan rack, I used foil to block the ends from the water pan to the wall, and on the rack above it, I used foil to cover the "front and back", so looking straight down from the top, it appears the only open space is above the water pan What this set up does is eliminate hot spots above the heat source. My vent is set at half way or so, and I never change it. I have found I have way better control of the heat this way. I maintain 225 F at three clicks off off minimum, meaning I use very little propane during the operation of the smoker. My factory thermometer is off about 50F , so I use a digital to really know where I am at. I realize there are many ways to mod your smoker, and please go ahead. All I can say is after about a year of trial and error, I can now walk away from my smoker for hours at a time without worry, and produce some spectacular examples of low and slow.
 
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I bought a Masterbuilt  XL 40, and have tried many different ways to even out the heat, make the wood chunks not burn up in 20 or 30 minutes, and a boat load of other "little" fixes I saw others have done. I tried the cast iron pan; all it did was suck up heat and not radiate it like I had hoped. PLEASE, this is not an attack on what any of the others have done, so if I offend anyone, that was not my intention. Thank God this is America, where we are allowed to voice and vent our issues, without fear of repercussion.

After lots of trial and error, this is what worked for me to keep a nice wisp of smoke going, and not have one end of my rack of ribs dry, and the other end so-so. I removed the factory water pan, and replaced it with a cheapo foil lasagna pan from the dollar store. Yes it had to be crushed a little bit, but it sure holds a good amount of water. As soon as I find the generic brand of lasagna pans at Wallly world, I will modify the factory shelf to accept it. As far as fire/smoke/heat control goes, here is what I did; I had a broken fire bricks and use one half on each side of the burner, I then placed a extra rack I had from a charcoal bbq covering the gas burner. Now I had a way to set my smoke pan (an 8 inch cake tin, another gift from the dollar store) and I can slide it on or off the fire as needed to provide the amount of smoke I wanted. Next, on the water pan rack, I used foil to block the ends from the water pan to the wall, and on the rack above it, I used foil to cover the "front and back", so looking straight down from the top, it appears the only open space is above the water pan What this set up does is eliminate hot spots above the heat source. My vent is set at half way or so, and I never change it. I have found I have way better control of the heat this way. I maintain 225 F at three clicks off off minimum, meaning I use very little propane during the operation of the smoker. My factory thermometer is off about 50F , so I use a digital to really know where I am at. I realize there are many ways to mod your smoker, and please go ahead. All I can say is after about a year of trial and error, I can now walk away from my smoker for hours at a time without worry, and produce some spectacular examples of low and slow.
cast iron absorbs heat and distributes across the pan. idk how youre getting 20-30 minutes out of chunks, especially if youre using chunkS and not a chunk..i can get a couple hours of smoke in mine, and i have NO mods done to mine. i even use the door therm with no backup, always a dry chamber..my ribs are never dry, they always fall off the bone, which i dont like btw, but it is what it is...lol.
 
Did u replace the regulator as well?, It sounds like the volume of fuel over whelemed the burner. The idea is to buy just the needle valve, Get barb fittings to fit your host cut the line and put the valve in,,,, Oh just had a thought did u realize u have to pay attentiion to what direction the valve faces,, Maybe and issue maybe not. Just make sure u don't change the regulator.. Good luck
 
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